Security forces today clashed with antigovernment protesters in Male, the capital of the Maldives, with police using tear gas and batons to break up crowds.
Thousands reporedly converged on the main square overnight, camping out for today's protest.
Demonstrators called for the resignation of President Mohamad Nasheed and demanded key economic reforms.
Police said several people were arrested for inciting violence, but one opposition leader said the number of people detained was several times higher.
Nasheed was elected president of the small Indian Ocean archipelago in 2008 in the
first multiparty presidential election seen by the country in three decades.
compiled from agency reports
Thousands reporedly converged on the main square overnight, camping out for today's protest.
Demonstrators called for the resignation of President Mohamad Nasheed and demanded key economic reforms.
Police said several people were arrested for inciting violence, but one opposition leader said the number of people detained was several times higher.
Nasheed was elected president of the small Indian Ocean archipelago in 2008 in the
first multiparty presidential election seen by the country in three decades.
compiled from agency reports